


On A Wednesday In A Café

by allantwitty



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Date, First Everything, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-28 04:24:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10823697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allantwitty/pseuds/allantwitty
Summary: I watched it begin again.





	On A Wednesday In A Café

**Author's Note:**

> this is a shameless fic based on Begin Again by Taylor Swift that i've been trying to write forever. seriously this is just the song in fic form. hope you like it.
> 
> dedicated to my best friend sophie who needs some fluff in their life right now.

Castiel Novak meets Dean Winchester on a rainy Wednesday, both of them in a tiny café sitting smackdab in the middle of Lebanon, Kansas, the only coffee shop around for miles. It might have been considered fortuitous, or maybe even meant to be, given that Castiel had never stopped by this little shop before and wouldn’t at all if it hadn’t have been for the rain. He preferred to make his coffee himself and didn’t find himself much one for public spaces.

Thin droplets are falling down on top of the material of his umbrella, and he pulls himself under the covered awning above the door as he enters the café. He shakes the water out of his umbrella and sets it down in the small basket meant to hold them, before walking up to the counter and looking at the menu.

“A medium, uh, hot chocolate please,” he orders, warming his hands by blowing his hot breath into them after he speaks.

“Sure thing,” the cashier, Hannah it appears from her nametag, says with a polite smile.

“Thank you.”

He stands by the counter and waits only a short moment for her to make it, and she hands it over with another smile as he hands her his card. Once he’s paid, he turns around and searches for a seat, but is embarrassed to find the only ones available are at tables already taken by other patrons.

He looks around, feeling his cheeks warming slightly, before he makes eye contact with a man in the back of the shop, and he smiles at Castiel softly before eyeing the seat across from him. Cas smiles back and decides to go for it, if only because he _really_ doesn’t want to stand awkwardly by the door by himself, watching and waiting for the rain to stop.

“Hey,” the man says as Castiel sits.

“Hello,” Castiel replies politely. Up close, he can see that this man is… well, he’s something else. He has short, tan-colored hair, and golden freckles scattered along his cheekbones that make something warm bloom in Cas’s chest. His eyes are a soft green, and they’re currently filled with interest as they continue to hold Cas’s gaze.

Cas stops his thoughts before they go any further – a good looking man is just that, a good looking man. He’s not searching for anything here, and he knows he’s not going to find anything. He’s learned that lesson before, the long and the hard way.

When the man’s eyes still refuse to leave Cas’s, Cas drops his stare to the table below them. He picks up his hot chocolate and takes a sip to distract himself, and promptly burns his tongue. Great.

“Hot, huh?” the man smirks.

“I beg your pardon?” Cas asks, almost choking on his next sip. He’s only drinking it to keep himself busy and occupied.

“The drink,” he clarifies, pointing at Cas’s cup. “It’s still hot. I didn’t mean me. Although, I could’ve,” he says with a shrug. Cas laughs before he can stop himself.

“Yes, it’s hot,” he chuckles.

“I’m Dean,” the man says, sticking his hand out. Cas reaches out to warily shake it, and his cold hand is immediately enveloped in warmth when he does.

“Castiel,” he murmurs, staring at the man’s ( _Dean’s_ ) eyes again.

“You should try the lemon drizzle cake,” Dean says, gesturing to the plate next to his drink, that’s currently housing a small slice of yellow cake. “It’s out of this _world_ good. I’m normally a pie man myself, but I can make an exception for this.”

“Maybe next time,” he says with a small smile.

“So what’s your story?” Dean asks, popping a piece of the cake into his mouth. Castiel feels a strange sense of disappointment fill him at the question, and he can’t explain it.

“You don’t have to do that, Dean,” he says, before taking the lid off of his drink to try to let some of the heat go.

“Do what?” Dean frowns.

“Pretend you want to get to know me. I’ll just wait until the rain stops and then I’ll get out of your hair. We don’t have to… you know, talk or anything.”

“Geez,” Dean scoffs, actually looking offended. “Who hurt you, dude? I’m not puttin’ myself out or anything.”

 _Who hurt me? That’s a good question_ , he thinks bitterly. “I apologize, I – I didn’t mean to offend you. I only meant, you don’t have to fill the silence. I’ll be gone soon.”

“Cas. Can I call you Cas?” he asks, continuing on without waiting for Cas’s confirmation, “I’d actually kind of really _like_ to know your story. If you would be so inclined to share it, that is. You’d be doin’ me a favor, trust me.”

Cas doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just blinks, before opening his mouth. “Well. My name is Castiel, I’m 23, I’m in graduate school trying to get my Masters in Education. I, um. I like bees.” Dean snorts at that and Cas frowns, ignoring him, before continuing. “And I like Netflix and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And hot chocolate,” he finishes, taking a drink of the now-cooler beverage. “What is, uh, _your_ … story?”

“Well my name’s Dean, and I’m a 24 year old mechanic just trying to get through the day, to be honest. I like pie and one type of cake and I got a dorky little brother who’s livin’ with me while he tries to get through college. I’m not very interesting.”

Cas smiles down at his drink. When he finally looks back up at Dean, he’s frowning at his watch.

“Shit, Cas, my lunch break is over,” he says, looking completely put out at the thought of having to leave, and it makes Cas’s heart race. “Listen, uh, there’s really no reason for you to say yes because we literally just met and we barely know each other, but would you have any interest in… meeting again? Maybe for dinner later?”

Cas’s heart almost jumps out of his chest, like something out of a cartoon. Holy shit.

Dean’s right, there is literally _no_ reason for him to say yes. In fact, there are quite actually many reasons why he should say no. So when his mouth opens and the only thing that spills out of it is a resounding ,“Yes,” he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He _really_ doesn’t know what he’s doing.

***

Castiel locks his apartment door behind him and makes his way outside. It’s cool, in the low 30s tonight, and he wraps his scarf tighter around his neck as he makes his way down the street. Why is he doing this again? It’s a question he can’t stop asking himself, and the way his heart is physically jackhammering against his ribcage is further proof that this is just a bad idea. He’s only going to get hurt, or he’ll be the one hurting, but either way – someone’s going to get hurt.

When he gets to the restaurant, the nicest one in this miniscule town, he’s sure Dean’s not going to be there. When he tells the host nervously that he’s meeting a Dean Winchester, she smiles and tells him he’s already inside waiting. Cas is surprised, to say the very least, that Dean is actually _early_.

He walks into the dining area and looks around, and spots Dean at a table near the back. When Dean notices him, he stands from where he was sitting with his leg bouncing up and down, and waves Cas over. Cas walks over to him and Dean almost, _almost_ , pulls him in for a hug, but he seems to stop himself at the very last minute and simply brushes his hand against Cas’s, before sitting back down.

“You look, uh, really nice, Cas,” Dean says, the warm candlelight illuminating his face and making it literally glow.

“So do you, Dean,” Cas murmurs. And he does. Dean is dressed up, wearing a white button down with black suit pants, and Cas feels a flutter in his chest at the effort Dean seems to have gone to.

“Were you waiting long?” Cas asks. He really hopes he didn’t make Dean wait.

“It’s okay, I wanted to be early,” Dean shrugs. This is already absolutely nothing like Cas expected. It’s… it’s _weird_.

“What is this, Dean?” Cas asks, his brow furrowed into a frown.

“This is called a date, Cas. It’s what two people do when they’d like to get to know each other better,” he smiles, chuckling a little under his breath as he does.

Cas gives Dean a _look_. “I’m serious, Dean. Why are you being so nice to me?”

Dean frowns at that himself. “What… why wouldn’t I be nice to you?”

And Cas has a realization, suddenly, that Dean isn’t Michael. Not every guy is Michael. Some are, maybe even a lot are, but not Dean. He may not have known him for very long, but he can tell. He’s different. Sometimes you just know.

“I apologize, Dean. I – at the risk of revealing too much about myself, I’ve only ever been in one relationship, and it was… not a happy one. So this whole thing, where you get here early and you want to know things about me and you’re really _nice_ to me, it’s new for me. And I don’t mean to make you feel sorry for me,” he adds as an aside when Dean’s face falls. “I just wanted to be honest about why I’m so wary about this.”

“That sounds… really shitty, Cas. I’m sorry,” Dean says softly.

“That wasn’t my intention,” Cas mumbles, drinking a sip out of the glass of water sitting by his menu. “I just wanted you to know.”

“Cas, forget whoever the douchebag fuckwit was that hurt you, okay? I know this is only our first date, but… this is different. I _promise_ you.”

“Can we change the subject?” Cas asks, shaking it off and ready to move on. “I’d really like to know more about you, Dean.”

Dean blinks and a small smile crosses his face, before he leans back in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest, making the muscles under his sleeves push out. “Well, let’s see… I’m an Aquarius, I enjoy long walks on the beach, frisky women, and guys who think liking _bees_ is a good first interesting fact about themselves they share with a person. Is that okay?”

Cas blushes and smiles down at the table. “I do like bees. They’re a big part of my life.”

“See, that’s something that needs explaining,” Dean says, before taking a gulp of his own water. “How is an insect a big part of your life?”

“I have a fair few number of bees. One of my professors has a farm, and she lets me keep them there, and I go and tend to them a few times a week. It’s really, quite fulfilling. I love it.”

Dean smiles at him, _really_ smiles, and Castiel is hit with the difference between Dean and Michael once again. Michael never let him talk about his bees.

“Tell me about your brother,” Cas says, wanting to change the subject and get the focus off of himself.

Dean’s eyes light up and Cas thinks he hit a good spot. “Oh yeah,” Dean says. “The kid’s great. He’s so smart, you know? I mean, I’m not a genius or anything, but I like to say I _dabble_ in certain subjects. But Sammy… the kid could tell you anything about anything. He’d probably talk your ear off about bees, until _you_ had to ask him shut up.”

“I don’t think I would do that, Dean,” Cas chuckles.

Dean chuckles himself and shrugs, and that’s when their waitress comes up. They order drinks and burgers, and Cas is hit again with the realization that Michael didn’t like it when he ordered burgers. Why, he still doesn’t really know.

“Is he the person you’re closest to in your family?” Cas asks once their menus have been taken and the waitress has promised to be back with their drinks soon.

“Oh yeah, definitely. My parents are divorced, and I don’t really talk to either of them much anymore.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Dean,” Cas says, hit with a flooding feeling of sadness for him.

“It’s okay,” he waves him off. “Sammy’s enough. What about you, what’s your family like?”

“I have two sisters, Claire and Anna, and one brother, Gabriel. I’m close with all of them, a fact I’m very grateful for. They’re very supportive individuals.”

“That’s great, Cas. Siblings are awesome.”

Conversation kind of peters out then, and Cas is sure it’s his fault. They just kind of stare at each other between awkward glances for a while, when Cas has to say something.

“I’m sorry, Dean, I don’t mean to bring this up again, but… I’ve only ever been on one first date, and it was nothing like this. This is… I don’t want to ruin it. I may need some direction here.”

Dean looks at him for a moment before inexplicably pulling out his phone. He types something and clicks a few things, before turning his phone and showing Cas his screen. It reads, ’10 unexpectedly fun questions to ask on a first date’. Cas snorts in disbelief and looks into Dean’s eyes, an unbelieving smile in his own.

“I’m no good at first dates either, Cas. Maybe we could _both_ use some direction.”

“Okay,” Cas murmurs. He’d really like to kiss Dean, thank you very much. Right now.

Their waitress brings up their drinks then and distracts Cas from staring at Dean’s lips. He takes a sip of his soda to wet his dry throat.

“Okay – number one. You go, then I’ll go. What’s your most vivid childhood memory?” Dean starts.

Cas sighs and says, “Hmm. Probably the time I broke my arm when I fell out of my treehouse.”

“You had a treehouse? Dude, those are awesome.”

“Yes, it was, until my annoying brother Gabriel took the ladder and hid it from me, forcing me to climb down on my own and _fall_ to my demise. Or the bone in arm’s demise, anyway.”

“He’s an ass, I’m guessing?” Dean surmises, and Cas laughs.

“Yes. Okay, your turn.”

“My most vivid childhood memory… can it be a not so happy one?”

“Of course.”

“It’s me in the kitchen with my mom, and she had just baked this gorgeous apple pie, and then I hear her on the phone with my dad, asking why he hadn’t been home in a few days. He moved out officially right after that.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Dean,” Cas says sadly.

“It’s okay. It’s in the past now,” he shrugs. “Okay, next one is ‘who in your family are you closest to’ but we kind of already did that. So I’ll skip it and ask this: were you popular in high school?”

Cas laughs, loud and open, and shakes his head. Dean smiles at him, a little confused though his eyes are lit up, and Cas sobers, staring after him for a moment. “Uh… no. No, I was _not_ popular in high school. My only friend was the girl who got pregnant at 16, a girl named Kelly. A very good friend, however. She’s still my best friend.”

Dean raises his eyebrows in approval. “Nice. _I_ was, however, practically a god in my high school,” he smiles, his teeth white and shining. “A new girl every week, a few boys here and there, prom king, you get the picture.”

“So if we met in high school, you wouldn’t have asked me out?”

“Cas, I’m pretty sure if we met in high school, we’d still be sitting here in this very restaurant on this very day, though we’d be on our 300th date, rather than first. So _yeah_ , I’d have asked you out.”

Cas blinks and says in a small voice, “Next one.”

Dean smiles, pursing his lips and making the dimples under his nose stand out, and reads. “What’s something you’re bad at?”

 _Everything_ , Cas brain helpfully supplies. He decides to take the less emo route and say, “Cooking.”

Dean smiles at that and says, “That’s like the one thing I’m actually good at! I’ll have to cook for you next time.”

And Cas doesn’t even flinch. Because, yes… there _will_ be a next time.

***

They finish the list of questions to ask each other, learning more than they ever thought they could on a first date, and soon enough they’re back outside and standing at Dean’s car. They’re in front of each other, their gazes trained anywhere but the other’s eyes.

Cas sees Dean swallow, hears it click, and Cas boldly reaches out and takes Dean’s hand in his own. “Dean,” he murmurs. “Can we do this again? Soon?”

Their eyes meet, finally, and Dean smiles, his whole face lighting up with it. “Yeah, Cas,” he breathes. “I’d like that.”

They lean forward at the same time, and their lips meet in a soft connection, quick and sweet, chaste, even, but it’s the most electric and _alive_ Cas has ever felt in his life.

They pull apart only by a scant few inches, and Cas smiles up at Dean. In that moment, he’s sure of one thing, and one thing only; this is different.

There was a time when he thought love was only made to break you apart. But standing here, with Dean’s arms wrapped softly around his middle, their bodies huddled together for warmth and for some other unnamed reason, he knows, more than he's ever known anything – this is a new beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
